Beyonce, Pitbull, Jason DeRulo: The hit songs you never knew used samples from old songs

BEYONCE. Pitbull. Jason DeRulo. They’re among the big name artists taking samples from little-known old songs to form the basis of their top-selling hits.

William Goodman

Huffington PostSeptember 3, 201412:37pm

YOU’VE likely heard Jason Derulo’s Talk Dirty featuring 2 Chainz a few dozen times by now, but are you familiar with Balkan Beat Box’s Hermetico?

For any who answered “no,” you’re actually more familiar with Balkan Beatbox than you think: It’s the iconic, Gypsy punk tune playing on Derulo’s hit song.

In the fascinating video above, YouTube user Michael Tan presents 12 hit songs you know and the original sampled music you may have never heard of. The clip features popular tunes from artists such as Eminem, Jay Z and Justin Timberlake.

As a bonus, we’ve also included some of Tan’s previous work (below). We guarantee this will up the ante of your listening and learning experience. You’re welcome.